Compacts

First hearing scheduled on Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe compact

Monday, July 16, 2012

Massachusetts lawmakers will hold a hearing today on Class III gaming compact for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

The 15-year compact requires the tribe to share 21.5 percent of gross gaming revenues with the state. Lawmakers have until July 31 to ratify, or reject, the deal.

If approved, the compact will be sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for review. The agency recently rejected a deal for a California tribe with a double-digit revenue sharing rate.

The tribe's other main hurdle is a land-into-trust application pending at the BIA. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar restricts the process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" as of 1934 but the Mashpees didn't gain recognition until May 2007.

Since the February 2009 decision, the BIA has approved a gaming land acquisition for the recently recognized Cowlitz Tribe of Washington. The application has been held up by litigation.

Get the Story:
Lawmakers to hold hearing on Taunton casino compact (AP 7/16)
Taunton casino’s fate tied to landless tribe’s legal battle (The Boston Globe 7/16)
Past Decisions Set Course For Mashpee, Aquinnah Casino Positions Today (Cape News 7/13)
State, Mashpee Tribe Gaming Compact Includes Land Claim Settlement Provision (Cape News 7/13)
Fall River mayor opposes Legislature approval of Taunton casino compact (The Taunton Daily Gazette 7/14)
Questions linger for southeastern Massachusetts as tribal casino deal reaches Legislature (State House News Service 7/13)

An Opinion:
Editorial: Hatch first (The Worcester Telegram & Gazette 7/16)